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Monday, 25 June 2012

Oh Now This Is Sad.......

And yet we stand by and continue to allow this to happen. :( ........ Attenborough would not approve.....

Lonesome George has died, leaving the world one species poorer.

The only remaining Pinta Island tortoise and celebrated
conservation icon passed away on Sunday, the Galapagos National Park
Service said in a statement.

Estimated to be more than 100-years-old, the creature's cause of death remains unclear and a necropsy is planned.

Last of his species ... Lonesome George. Photo: Reuters

Lonesome George's longtime caretaker, Fausto Llerena,
found the tortoise's remains stretched out in the "direction of his
watering hole" on Santa Cruz Island, the statement said.

Lonesome George was discovered on Ecuador's Pinta Island
in 1972 at a time when tortoises of his type were already believed to be
extinct. Since then, the animal had been part of the park service's
tortoise program.

Repeated efforts to breed Lonesome George failed.

"Later two females from the Espanola tortoise population
[the species most closely related to Pinta tortoises genetically] were
with George until the end," the park service said.

In honour of Lonesome George, the park service said it
was convening an international workshop in July on management strategies
for restoring tortoise populations over the next decade.

The Galapagos Islands, situated about 1000km off Ecuador's coast, are considered a haven for tortoises.